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Special Interest Groups

Connect with other EMDRIA Members!

The Special
Interest Group ("SIG") Program provides online communities for open discussion among professionals in various areas and topics related to EMDR. This member-only benefit is a great way to connect with your fellow EMDR therapists and you may participate online, by email, or both. Check out the Special Interest Groups below to get started!

Interested in starting an EMDRIA Special Interest Group?

Click the Join Community button below to be taken to the SIG's community home page. You will be prompted to sign in to your EMDRIA member account if you are not signed in already. Once on the SIG home page, click the Join Community button in the upper right-hand corner to become a member of that SIG community.

EMDR and Dissociative Disorders

The ISSTD (International Society for the Study of Trauma and Dissociation) endorses EMDR as an adjunctive treatment in their Guidelines for Treating Dissociative Identity Disorder in Adults (2011). They recommend that EMDR is not used as a standalone treatment but as part of an overall treatment plan. Early use of EMDR with dissociative clients, however, resulted in a number of difficulties, including ‘unintended breaches of dissociative barriers, flooding, abrupt emergence of undiagnosed alternate personalities, and rapid destabilisation’ (ISSTD, 2011). The ISSTD therefore recommend that adjustments be made to the standard EMDR protocols when working with dissociative survivors, and various safeguards put in place. So what are some treatments that you incorporate EMDR with when working on complex trauma and dissociative clients? This is a place to get together and share ideas, practices and grow together!

EMDR and Eating Disorders

The EMDR and Eating Disorders SIG invites discussion, collaboration, and support for EMDR therapists who treat eating disorders such as Anorexia Nervosa, Bulimia Nervosa, Binge Eating Disorder and disordered eating. Often this includes resource sharing (particularly medical), discussion and case consultation regarding treatment planning, history gathering, stabilization and common negative cognitions with eating disordered populations. Attention is often given to the presence of and approaches to treating dissociative states attached to the disorder. Above all, there is the advantage of knowing that you are not alone in working with this challenging population.

EMDR and Intimate Partner Violence

This group is about the problems and solutions revolving around the use of EMDR with victims, perpetrators, adults and children who experience Intimate Partner Violence/Family Violence/Domestic Violence/Dating Violence. Members who are interested in discussing the use and strategies involved in treating people dealing with Intimate Partner Violence or Family Violence. Potential topics of discussion: Issues regarding EMDR implementation during a crisis period of people's lives, in shelters, as they flee abuse; Implementation of EMDR with perpetrators of abuse; EMDR with survivors who have neurological problems like TBI, and other topics of interest to you.

EMDR and Juvenile Corrections

Approximately 80-95% of adolescents in the juvenile corrections system have experienced some form of abuse in their lives – physical, emotional, sexual, and/or neglect. Many times the crimes that they commit reflect the trauma and damage that they experienced earlier in life. As a result, we see a population of young people with mental health diagnoses such as bi-polar, schizophrenia, and even personality disorders – even when they do not meet all of the diagnostic criteria (such as age of onset). Many of these young people, of course, do meet the criteria for PTSD. The purpose of this community is to allow professionals in the juvenile justice system to network, share experiences, encourage research and proper diagnosis, and promote the awareness of the effects of trauma on adolescents.

EMDR and Medical Illness

Chair | TBD

This community allows EMDRIA members to share information and treatments regarding the application of EMDR for medical issues in a variety of settings including, but not limited to, institutions, clinics and outpatient settings.

EMDR and Positive Psychology

EMDR and Positive Psychology have a natural alliance to promote Post Traumatic Growth. By resolving historical trauma our patients move to the possibility to secure a solid psychological foundation and launch into Post Traumatic Growth. The founder of Positive Psychology, Martin Seligman, Ph.D. articulated Well Being Theory in his book Flourish (ATRIA, 2013). Positive Psychology is the scientific study of human flourishing, and an applied approach to optimal functioning. It has also been defined as the study of the strengths and virtues that enable individuals, communities and organizations to thrive (Gable & Haidt, 2005, Sheldon & King, 2001). Positive Psychology is grounded in the belief that people want to lead meaningful and fulfilling lives, to cultivate what is best within them, and to enhance their experiences of love, work, and play (Positive Psychology Center, 2016).

EMDR and Psychoanalysis

EMDRIA has a very interesting SIG that explores the connection between neuroscience, psychoanalysis, and EMDR. The thing they all have in common is the triad of brain, body and mind which is predicated on relationships as the important and necessary cement that holds it all together. Attachment studies show that poor attachment, i.e. poor infant brain to caretaker brain connection, brings dysfunction; and good infant-caretaker brain connection, brings creative, resilient an healthy human beings who can cope with life. The EMDR therapeutic relationship works directly on the brain (and body and mind) through the healing infant-caretaker-like relationship of client and EMDR therapist. The unconscious that Freud described was the lower pre-frontal cortex that holds the jumble of past sensations, images, sounds, etc. in implicit memory; these same implicit memories that EMDR deals with during a processing session.

All of this shows how EMDR is the most cutting-edge and profound intervention that closely mirrors the many exciting things that neuroscience is discovering and uncovering!

EMDR and Public Practice and Diversity

The purpose of the EMDR and Public Practice and Diversity SIG is to provide a community for members of the EMDR International Association involved in public practice and diversity issues. This community promotes professional and practical discussions about issues related to EMDR and supports public practice clinicians and administrators so that EMDR can become an intrinsic part of their organizations at all levels. More information …

EMDR and Substance Use

A group to discuss, share, and inform clinicians involved in the practice of treating those with substance use disorders. We will talk about the latest research, books, workshops, conferences and ethical practice of EMDR treatment for this population. We invite active discussion regarding case conceptualization, treatment experiences, and shared knowledge.

EMDR and the Body

EMDR is a therapy that fully incorporates a person's "felt sense" experience. Many aspects of bodily experience, both at the time of a trauma and in the course of therapy, may be relevant to treatment. The goal of this SIG is to provide a platform for sharing perspectives from psychophysiological theories and somatic psychotherapies that support EMDR therapy; for asking questions and learning from each other; and for discussing experiences that occur in the course of our work. This SIG is for members who are interested in learning together for the purpose of improving effectiveness as EMDR therapists.

EMDR and the Military

The purpose of the EMDR Military SIG is to provide a community for members of the EMDR International Association involved in the EMDR treatment of military personnel, veterans and their families.

This community promotes professional and scientific discussions about the theoretical, empirical and clinical issues related to EMDR in its application to these populations. New ideas and speculation are welcome and should be labeled as such. The intent of the community is to provide clinical, professional support and case discussions for EMDR International Association members engaged in such work.

EMDR and Writing

The purpose of the EMDR & Writing Special Interest Group is to bring together EMDR trained clinicians for peer consultation, resource sharing, camaraderie and support with a shared interest in, but not limited to: writing and EMDR as a therapeutic modality, the use of writing for promotion of wellness and healing, the use of writing within specialty protocols, healing through the use of classics in literature (i.e. for use as interweaves), and current writing related research.

EMDR for First Responders & Protective Services Personnel

The purpose of the First Responders & Protective Service Personnel SIG is to create a community of professionals who work with individuals who are and/or have worked as first responders/protective services workers. These professionals differ from veterans in that they spend their careers at home working in and around their communities to protect the safety and welfare of citizens. Some first responders/protective services workers have served in the military but differ in many ways as they live in the communities they serve. These professionals experience daily personal and professional exposure to traumatic incidents. More information ...

EMDR in the University

The goal of the University SIG is to provide a community and support for collaboration and networking for faculty who wish to teach EMDR therapy in the University setting. The dissemination of EMDR therapy in University settings is important in order to train clinicians early in their career as well as to integrate and cultivate EMDR research in the University settings in the United States. Resources are shared and topics related to developing criteria, academic excellence, curricular issues, and pedagogical methods for the delivery of various levels of EMDR training are discussed. The SIG chair will track projects and facilitate communication among the members through the EMDRIA community SIG home page. The specific pursuits of the University SIG will be determined by the interests and needs of its members.

EMDR Research

The goal of the Research SIG will be to facilitate collaboration and networking in EMDR-related research. The intent is to bring together interested clinicians and researchers who would like to discuss research findings, dialogue about related issues, develop a project, participate in a study, collect data, explore/develop relevant measures, and/or write grant applications to fund EMDR research. Members of the Research Committee and the Research Foundation Board are ex-officio members of the SIG. The Research SIG may connect members with appropriate researchers/consultants on the Committee or within the community and/or may work on new and creative strategies for inspiring and facilitating research in areas in need of research attention e.g. depression, work with perpetrators, chronic pain, combat veterans, variations of protocol, documenting the distinct kinds of emotional/cognitive/somatic/personality changes consequent to EMDR treatment. The chair will facilitate communication among the members of the SIG, and the specific pursuits of the community will be determined by the interests and needs of its members.

EMDR with Children & Adolescents

This community promotes professional discussion of clinical cases, new protocols and therapeutic interventions, research findings and projects as well as training opportunities related to the application of EMDR therapy with children and adolescents. A template for case presentation is provided to all SIG members interested in participating in case consultation. More information ...

EMDR, Energy Medicine, and Spirituality

The EMDR, Energy Medicine, and Spirituality SIG is dedicated to explore and integrate the skills of energy medicine into the standard EMDR protocol as a way of helping the client swiftly process trauma from a perception of emerging inner wisdom and higher awareness that evolves as a result of using tools and skills of energy medicine. This community acknowledges the power of accessing and balancing the energy that surrounds the body, holding memory, emotions, and cognition's. Members of this community have been acquainted with energy healing through programs taught from the western perspective of energy psychology, hands on healing programs, or through the study with teachers of ancient wisdom traditions such as shamanism, reiki, yoga, etc. Balancing the energy field may in and of itself support a release of old patterns and conflict resolution. The impact of emerging spiritual awareness changes the context for trauma and offers meaning and support for the client. Higher conscious awareness and emergence of an essential spiritual self can be used within the EMDR protocol for positive resourcing, adaptive functioning, ego integration, cognitive interweaves, emotional stabilization, and giving spiritual meaning to past, present, and future, true to AIP model. The community offers EMDR therapists the opportunity to share experiences and learn from one another through online interaction and live meetings at the EMDRIA conferences.